Dos Ríos / Rebeca Monzo

“The conceited villager believes the entire world is his village.” In another paragraph taken from Our America he wrote, “The presumptuous man believes that the earth was made to serve as his pedestal, because he happens to have a facile pen or colorful speech.”

Writer, philosopher, poet, politician, organizer of the Cuban Revolutionary Party, Freemason. Recognized and venerated as an Apostle of Independence, by the majority of Cubans.

Also organizer of the necessary war (1895), he fell in Dos Ríos, shot down by the Spanish army under the command of Colonel Jiménez Sandoval. His companion succeeded in fleeing and informing Máximo Gómez of the fall in combat of Martí.

His death in Dos Ríos, left everyone with some mysteries that were lost until our time. Had Martí been more useful alive than dead? The mystery of the lost pages of his Dairy of the Haitian Cape of Dos Ríos has never been disclosed.

It was almost an act of suicide to have faced the Spanish troops alone, without any previous military experience. A thing of fate, or perhaps he felt obligated to do it. This will never be known with certainty.

Translated by: BW

May 18 2011

Absurd Reasons / Fernando Dámaso

I have often questioned the existence of a single party. I think it’s exclusive, unnatural, and directly undermines the very nature of human beings. It is very difficult to find absolute coincidence of views between different people. It does not happen in the family nor in other groupings such as the block, neighborhood, municipality, province and even less in the country. Tastes differ, in music, literature, sports, arts, fashion, food, morals, etc., as in politics. To pretend that all citizens of a country accept a single vision of society, and are subject to an organization that claims to represent it, prohibiting the existence of others, is absurd.

Human beings, throughout history, have created political organizations in accordance with their common interests. So within a country and in every society, there are different ones, which may be as many as they require by their own characteristics. The existence of these is what has allowed the development and progress achieved. Where one-party systems have been implemented, they have failed. We are a good example.

José Martí is said to have created a single party. It’s true: he would had been mad if he had created more than one. No politician creates several parties: he creates only one considered to represent his own ideas. Marti created his party, but did not prohibit the existence of others, rather he competed with them in the realm of ideas, as did those who were alive in his time. The Cuban Revolutionary Party did not appoint itself the only party. Marti’s task was to unite Cubans struggling for independence, despite their differences. That was his political goal. Also he never proposed that, following independence (his reason for being), it would serve as the single party of the Republic. Its democratic ideals did not allow that.

Speaking today to a single party, and even more so to try to keep it and keep it holy for now and forever in an article of the Constitution, is as absurd as when it was established. A totalitarian aberration with no historical or logical foundation, whose sole purpose is the retention of absolute power indefinitely. The fractional Cuban nation, in need of new ideas, does not support it, especially when in the opinion of citizens the only party existing for over fifty years is exhausted both in power, and because of its many mistakes and failures and their demonstrated inability to conduct the country’s destiny, and is no longer worthy of trust.

If they are really serious about trying to find a solution to the current crisis, in addition to the proposed timid economic measures, they must take the political bull by the horns and open it to real citizen participation, allowing the creation of political organizations, the full exercise of opinion and participation for all Cubans, without arbitrary exclusions, in the political debate and in solutions, both economic and political. The nation belongs to all and not just to one group, however historic they may be.

June 16 2011

One Day They Will Not Return / Luis Felipe Rojas

Photo: Luis Felipe Rojas

The automobile pretentiously came to a stop and interposed itself in front of the four individuals dressed in civilian clothing. Suddenly, two more vehicles arrived and took away one woman and a man. Nobody protested, everyone was astonished by the arrest. Those being detained screamed slogans against the government, but no one dared get involved with the protest, or what for the rest of the world is better described as a kidnapping.

A neighbor from the “Hilda Torres” Holguin neighborhood was the one who described the scene to me. Those arrested were Human Rights activists who, this past May, were protesting against the government’s behavior towards their ideological counterparts in the center of the country.

“Only one young man protested and they took him away”, said Fidel Garcia Roldan, former political prisoner and victim of that kidnapping.

For some time now, we have been seeing some changes in the behavior of the political police in various regions of the country. Caridad Caballero Batista and Mari Blanca Avila were locked in a car and savagely beaten, according to testimonies offered to this blogger. Jose A. Triguero Mulet was taken to a “security house” in the municipality of Mayari in 2010 and during his entire arrest there none of his relatives received any news about him. Journalist Alberto Mendez Castello was taken from his work place in Puerto Padre and kept in a “comfortable hotel room” with a hood over his head for a few hours while they warned him.

Caridad Caballero herself was locked away in a small cell of the political police unit of San German for three days. Her young under-age son was alone at home the entire time and did not receive any response from the authorities. Various friends living outside of Cuba called the number 53-243-81-323, the office of the police unit, and they were redirected to 53-243-80-480, which is supposed to be the office of the MININT Delegation. In each of these cases, the officials swore that there was “no one there by the name of Caridad Caballero”.

On February 2008, a green Lada vehicle stopped at the door of my house while the driver, who claimed to be called Douglas and who claimed to be the 1st official of Confrontation with the enemy in the province, assured my wife that I was going to be taken to the local police barracks but he quickly turned the wheel in the first street corner and I found myself in the G2 Operations Barracks. My family waited for hours outside the unit until a clumsy official assured them that I had been taken to Holguin.

Now, the repressive forces have alternated between kicks and punches and scaring the family. There has been an abrupt turn towards what, in the Central America of the 80’s, was considered a “kidnapping”. Now, we are insulted when people do not believe our testimonies.

Our names or identities are not registered in the Penal Control record books, we are never listed as detainees, and the operational G2 officials, the police officers, and the Military Prosecutor lawyers all lazily assure, over the Penal Code and the Constitution of Republic of Cuba, that “they do not need summons or citations to detain us”. “We do not have to add you in the book of detainees”, I was assured on August 4th 2010 by Juan Carlos Laborde, the attorney of the Ministry of the Interior of Holguin, located in Marti and Narciso Lopez. Captain Laborde, didn’t you assure me that there, in that unit, positive responses were always given to the PEOPLE? “And you are not one of the PEOPLE”, he replied to me in front of another castroite official.

Cuban police units are reservoirs of people who bitterly stare at those who are detained and scream slogans against the dictatorship. While one is sitting in the bench at the waiting room, the functionaries dressed in blue stare at you out of the corner of their eyes as they try to relate you to some sort of robbery or violation of norms. But those claims are hammered onto us by the men from the G2 dressed in civil clothes when they deal with us. Then we become food for “the fattest of the fish”.

Photo taken from Cubanacan Press Blog

Translated by: Raul G.

12 June 2011

Bitten by Underdevelopment / Rebeca Monzo

The very first time I sat at front of a PC, around six years ago, I thought that it was the end for me. It doesn’t matter how many times Alfredo, my son, told me, “It won’t break so easily,” I was so afraid every time I touched any key thinking that all of a sudden everything will be dark and a catastrophe will happen.

I am not a brave person, neither am I a coward, but a very cautious person indeed. The problem is that on my planet, when something breaks, it is for ever and ever, there’s no way to fix it, it is broken for life, moreover when involves equipment of such scarce technology.

Finally, with practice and perseverance I’ve been learning a little bit, enough to communicate with the outside world (where my family and friends are) and, even making a blog!

I am telling you all this, because recently someone gave me a cell phone as a gift and immediately I got a crash course on how to use it. This is the reason why I beg you to forgive me, due to the fact as you’ve probably already noticed, I just met this helpful little blue bird, which on countless occasions helped to save the physical integrity of my fellow colleagues who share with me my planet.

I hope you forgive my rookie skills twittering. I promise to work hard not to make any more mistakes, and avoid one more time being bitten by underdevelopment.

Translated by: Adrian Rodriguez

June 13 2011

In Havana There Are State, Illegal and Hard Currency Pharmacies / Iván García

Every time that Niurka needs vitamin C or an albutamol (albuterol) inhaler for her asthma, she knows where to find it. First, before asking Fermin, a medicines peddler, she tries to get it by slipping a 20 pesos bill over the closest state-owned pharmacy counter.

If the pharmacist opens her eyes incredibly wide, it means the deal is going bad, then she goes and looks for the illegal medicine peddler. Most of the time she finds what she looks for.

Fermin works for an old and central Havana hospital’s apothecary. His salary of 300 pesos (16 dollars) a month is a joke. But with the medicines he carries out of the hospital in his backpack every afternoon, he multiplies his salary by ten.

“I use to steal vitamins, asthma inhalers and, when I can , donated foreign medicines. Also I take orders, if someone asks me for a specific medicine and it’s in stock in the hospital, it will magically disappear from the shelf,” confesses Fermin.

The public health standards on the island are lower today in comparison to the decade of the 80’s, but either way, Cuban public health is still giving a notable service in spite of being a third world nation.

But certain medicines are scarce. The Cuban government blames it on the USA embargo, which impedes Cuba from buying latest generation medicines. It may be. But in the foreign currency pharmacies you can find vitamins, antibiotics or analgesics from renowned pharmaceutical brands of capitalist countries. To make up for the medicine deficit, the Cuban state approves humongous amounts of American dollars to increase its national production

Sonia, a pharmacist, believes that Cuban-made medicines have a low quality, a good portion are also limited by a ration card given out by the family doctor or by a specialist.

Those who suffer from respiratory illnesses are the ones who suffer most. There are two classifications. Type I and II. The first ones are entitled to one inhaler a month and the second ones, to one every two months.

“Most of the time I have to buy asthma inhalers on the side, in the black market. Either by bribing a hospital employee or a pharmacist with 20 pesos, or buying from one of the hundreds of existing medicine peddlers in Havana,” Rogelio, a chronic asthmatic, makes clear.

Cuba being a tropical island, with high humidity, the number of persons suffering respiratory illnesses is significant. For this reason, all illegal medicine vendors have a guaranteed market.

Denis, one of these vendors, says that in addition to the vitamins, antibiotics and inhalers, a product with a great demand are the sanitary napkins women called “intimas.”

“Women of fertile age are entitled to buy a package of ten sanitary napkins–“intimas“–a month. And because it isn’t enough, the sanitary napkins are a colossal business. Each package is sold for ten pesos (half a dollar). Thanks to the sale of female sanitary napkins, vitamins and asthma inhalers, in the twelve years I have in this business, I repaired my room,” says Denis with pride.

Cuban health care is free and its doctors–as a general rule–have a good preparation and are committed. But when it comes the time to get a drug the patient has three options.

First, acquire in the local pharmacy the ones prescribed by the doctor, if they have it in stock. Second, if you have “hard currency,” in an international pharmacy you can buy a fifth generation antibiotic or Johnson & Johnson syrups. And the third option, buy from an illegal vendor, who for dollars (fulas in Cuban slang) will bring the medicines to your door.

Ivan Garcia

Note- This article was written in March 2011, but I have a lot of articles to publish, from Ivan and other authors, and it was left behind. (TQ)

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Translated by: Adrian Rodriguez

June 7 2011

Message from Frank Padron / POLEMICA: The 2007 Intellectual Debate

I am disgusted as is any honest intellectual Cuban who knows a bit of history and who, one way or another, has lived it. Now: if we don’t take immediate action (.) we run the risk that all of this does not exceed the usual web controversies in the style of The Difference. I also think that the “airing” right after two shadowy figures is not a simple coincidence nor a mere blunder (“for variety”) of our beloved Television Institute.

Frank Padrón

Translated by: Yenny Fernandez

Link to original post
January 2007

Human Traction / Rebeca Monzo

Photo courtesy of Peter

Last Friday, I had to leave to run some errands, all in Havana Vieja (old Havana) and fortunately in the same area.

We left at 1:00 in the afternoon, with enough time, because the primary appointment was at 2:00. Our old Lada refused to continue running when we were halfway up the street. We had to move it onto the sidewalk on Carlos III and push it down the side street where they told us we could find a mechanic. There I left Fernando taking care of the problem. I return to the avenue to look for an old communal taxi, that for 10 Cuban pesos would take me as close as possible to my destination. All those that passed by were going to the Capital building. Once there, I saw a bicycle taxi and I hired it. It was the first time I had done it.

I told the driver of the vehicle that I didn’t want to him to be offended, but that until today, propelled by a great need, I had refused to use this means because I found it inhumane. I added that before 1959, on my planet I never used human traction. I had seen that it was very common in some countries of the Middle East, India, Thailand, and others, but not here.

Talking with him, about how many hours per day he did this work and what his food was like, he told me that he had had to reduce his working hours and set aside one or two days a week to take a break, because he was beginning to suffer from back and kidney pains. That he had decided that he felt so bad that money couldn’t change his health, but on the other hand he had a family to support.

Upon arriving at my destination, the street he took was blocked by some enormous tow-truck and it was blocking us from going around it. I decided to get down and walk the rest of the way so that he didn’t have to make some big detour and take me to the agreed upon place. The young person thanked me for it, I felt relieved when I got out of the bici-taxi.

Translated by: BW

June 6 2011

Acknowledgment of Receipt / Ernesto Morales Licea

Closed during vacations-

Just that, my friends: well deserved vacations. At the beginning of next month “The Little Brother” is going to be one year old, and its author, administrator, and copy editor has decided to take a few weeks of sabbatical. Next Monday, after my three weeks of cyber vacations I will come back to by job and post number 80 will appear here. To those that have written concerned about my absence. Is it health problems, blog abandonment, lack of free time? I confirm my gratitude to your concerns. I never imagine that a little personal effort as this blog could mean so much to unknown friends.

Until 4 days from now, “The Little Brother” is closed…to take a break.

Translated by A.Roy

June 16 2011

Information Surprises / Regina Coyula

The unrestricted access to news information, brought me some surprises. The first of them is that the digital Granma* is a light version of the printed one, and when I entered the site for Granma Internacional, it was as if they were talking about another country.

The second surprise was that the Palestinians also kill Israelis–I had only read in the press of my country about the massacres the Jews carry out against the Arabs–in the same way that I had discovered that the governments of Libya and Syria murder and repress their citizens.

I also was surprised with the assessment that the 15-M protests in Spain could have ended with a bombing of NATO, because the truth is that all that was more calm and organized within its spontaneous nature, although my family was very worried about me being in an unstable country and in a violent situation, according to what the national media was reporting.

But what surprised me most was knowing the life in one of the most happy countries in the world after China and North Korea!, a statistic elaborated by… North Korea, in which the United States is in last place. If I had not seen it in El País, I would have thought that it was about a joke from Granma.

Translated by: BW

*Granma is the daily official newspaper of the Cuban government

June 16 2011